Student Spotlight: Lindsay Smiling

Lindsay SmilingMajor: Theater

Lindsay Smiling never really acted until taking classes at College of DuPage.

“In high school, my best classes were in math and science. I was able to absorb the
material really easily without too much study outside of class,” he said. “And I was
really good at drawing/painting.”

When it came time for college, Smiling didn’t know what field to enter. He considered
graphic arts, architecture and teaching mathematics as possible career paths but didn't
feel a strong passion toward any of them. Rather than attend an expensive university
and accrue debt while trying to find direction, he enrolled at College of DuPage.

On a whim, he took an acting class with Connie Canaday Howard as an elective.

“I really had no intention of going into theater as a profession,” he said. “Almost
immediately my mind was challenged in a way I hadn't experienced before. I continued
to take classes and was cast in my first play, ‘Balm in Gilead,’ directed by Craig
Berger. After finishing COD, I went on to study at Illinois State University double
majoring in Theater and Math. By the time I finished ISU, I pretty much knew what
my career was going to be.”

Now a professional actor, he has worked at more than 20 different professional theaters
across the country in more than 30 different productions. This includes the Shakespeare
Theatre of New Jersey, Milwaukee Repertory Theater (where he is an Associate Artist),
Pittsburgh Public, Victory Gardens, and Shakespeare on the Sound.

He has appeared in “Treasure Island” Off-Broadway and most recently in “Don Juan Comes
Home From Iraq” at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia. He is now an official member
of the Wilma Theatre’s Hothouse Company, an acting company that is committed to collectively
continuing physical and vocal training throughout the year as well as work-shopping
new and classical texts. During the upcoming year, he will appear at Wilma in “When
the Rain Stops Falling” and “Adapt.” He also is in “Red Velvet” at the Shakespeare
Theatre of New Jersey and will appear in “Informed Consent (Lantern Theater Company)
and “How to Use a Knife” (InterAct Theater).

“I’m not quite sure how it happened or how I got on their radar but I was truly honored
to be featured,” he said.

He also is an adjunct professor of acting at Temple University, where he earned his
MFA in Acting.

Smiling credits College of DuPage for providing the foundation for his theater career.

“Being able to work and be taught by professional actors was instrumental in establishing
my work ethic,” he said. “In addition to developing the basics of acting technique,
the professionals at COD taught me how to audition, what my resume should look like
and what to expect after academia.

“College of DuPage provides excellent resources to learn how to be a professional.
If you decide to enroll at COD, be open and prepared to learn.”

College of DuPage Addison Center

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College of DuPage Lisle location

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